


Eye of the Storm

by Mickeydine



Category: Music RPF, Van Halen
Genre: M/M, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Rivalry, Sleep Deprivation, texas weather is bipolar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:35:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25193275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mickeydine/pseuds/Mickeydine
Summary: The flight time from Houston to Dallas is around thirty to thirty five minutes, give or take. Ten minutes in and they get turbulence. Of course it woke Sammy up. He knew he couldn't get what he wanted, but he's still bitter about it. It wasn't that bad so he tried to go back to sleep, jealous that Eddie was still sleeping.
Relationships: Eddie Van Halen/Sammy Hagar
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. If Not for the Excuses

**Author's Note:**

> -6am thoughts led to this. "why were you awake at 6am?" bold of you to assume any of us have a normal sleep schedule at this point in time  
> -If you've ever been to Texas, I'm sorry. If you haven't, keep it that way.  
> -Apologizing in advance this is gonna be cliche  
> -All for good fun :)

They had barely enough to afford their private jet. Otherwise, they were broke now. Nothing, zip, zero, nada. Had to book a cheap ass hotel, that Sammy couldn't remember the name of, some few miles from the venue. They have to fly in a few days early because of the weather. Where were they going? San Antonio? No Dallas. Sammy couldn't remember he was so fucking tired.

Woke up before the crack of dawn at 3 o'fucking'clock in the morning only to bounce around airports because of, again, the weather. Started at LAX at around 4 am then to…. Las Vegas, right. Then Vegas to Phoenix which Sammy doesn't remember because he slept through it. Had to sit in Phoenix because Texas was just wrecked with storms. Next to Amarillo and had to sit there for a while and wait out some crazy wind. Now they're in Houston, waiting some more but outside the plane now to get some fresh air, even though the air here was made of hot soup. It's like 1pm and Sammy is currently weighing out the consequences for murder. 

Eddie and Alex's sibling bickering turned into an actual fight. Had they not had a gig in a few days, Sammy would have just let it happen. But a black eye or two and a broken wrist for either of them would be catastrophic. He's not sure how Michael pulled Alex away, but Sammy had to pretty much haul Eddie off the ground around his waist.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU SONOFABITCH!" Eddie was trying to squirm out of Sammy's grip.

"No thanks! What was it this time? What song to start with again? You two are killing me." Thank God Eddie was at least a little shorter than him or else this would have been much more difficult. 

"AND ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Eddie pointed at Alex over Sammy's shoulder. 

"RIGHT BACK AT YOU, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Alex was wrestling with Michael at this point and Sammy is still impressed that Michael is holding him back.

"Hey Al, do us a favor and calm the fuck down." Michael spoke for both him and Sammy because this was getting old real quick. 

"UGH FINE!" Alex pulled out a smoke, lit it, and walked to the other side of the plane. Michael followed shortly. 

"THAT'S RIGHT FUCKER! RUN, RUN AWAY!" Eddie was still riled up. Alex flipped the bird in silence. 

"Will you shut the fuck up? He gave up and you look like the idiot now." Sammy, reluctantly, put Eddie down right at the bottom of the stairs.

"How about you shut the fuck up," Eddie pushed Sammy back a few times, "you don't fucking get it! Quit getting in our business! This is my band and I do what I want with it! I couldn't give a shit what happens to him."

That was a lie and they both knew it. Eddie just isn't in the right mind right now, but Sammy was, oh, so tired of this. "Look, I understand, but not right before a gig man. C'mon."

"I. Don't. Fucking. Ca- what!" Sammy was fed up and tired of arguing. He picked up Eddie again and threw him over his shoulder. 

"Ok, that's enough fresh air for you." Hmmm, Eddie was lighter than he looked.

Sammy got four steps up into the plane and Eddie started squirming again, "put me down jackass!"

Sammy had one hand on Eddie and used the other to hold onto the railing and leaned as far back as he could, "really? Right here?"

Eddie was dangling over the bottom stairs, "no, no, stop! Stop," he clung to the top of Sammy's jeans, "ok ok ok I get it- ugh what the hell man!?" 

Sammy got upright again and drummed both hands on Eddie's ass, "if you're gonna act like a bitchy chick, you're gonna get treated like one."

"The same goes for you!" Eddie then spanked Sammy. There they were, two dumbass rockstars messing with each other's ass while walking into their private jet. Just another day. 

Sammy felt daring and decided to give a little squeeze. "Hey! Sammy cut it out!" He thought Eddie was too lean, but Sammy was surprised he could actually get a good handful! Hmph, interesting. Then Eddie spanked him even harder this time, "hey woah! Ok I've had enough." They made it to the door and Sammy let Eddie slip down the front of him, "you good now?" 

All the blood ran to Eddie's head while he was upside down, making him look flushed, "I'm light headed and I still wanna kill him." He said that, but at least he was smiling now. 

Sammy sighed, "ugh." He pushed Eddie to the back of the plane to a window seat and sat down right next to him. With good timing too, the plane had started up to leave soon. 

"You have the entire rest of the plane and yet you wanna sit right next to me." Not a second later Alex and Michael walked in. Eddie turned away to look out the window in indifference.

"This is just so you don't commit homicide thirty thousand feet up." Michael apparently had the same idea and sat next to Alex.

"Hmph." Each pair was diagonal from each other so that the brothers couldn't see each other, but Michael could turn around to Sammy and give each other funny looks. 

The plane pulled off the tarmac towards the runway, but they were six planes back. Sammy tried to look out the window, but Eddie was in the way. He had his legs crossed and looked like he was finally calmed down. The patches of sunlight that seeped through the clouds highlighted how incredible his cheekbones were. Sammy knew how defined they were, but seeing them in this sort of spotlight made him realize how attractive Eddie is. Not that Sammy didn't know that either. He just never thought about it, but this lighting really flatters Eddie's features…. and his eyes are a pretty color, too….

"Are you trying to look, too?" Eddie caught him staring and gestured to the window with a quick shift of his eyes. 

Quick, brush it off! "Uh…. ya, but it's fine." Sammy stopped his stare and pretended that something else captured his attention down the aisle of the plane.

Eddie said nothing and continued his focus out the window. Whew. Sammy couldn't believe he was caught off guard and red handed like that, he hadn't realized he got lost in admiration. Hold on, was admiration the right word, though? And wait a damn minute, why was he admiring, hypothetically, so much to be caught? Hmmm. He wanted to test a theory. 

"What in the hell are you doing now?"

"Shut up. You guys gave me a headache. This is punishment." Sammy was determined to get some sleep or else he wasn't gonna make it through the day. So to Eddie's dismay, his shoulder was now being used as a pillow. 

"Fine." Wow, no arguing! What a concept. Eddie rested his head in his hand and continued to look out the window.

Five planes left in front of them. The armrest got in the way. Sammy sat up and pushed it back then laid down back on Eddie. He tried to get comfortable again and over did it on purpose. Just a bunch of unnecessary wriggling, "mmmm, you're comfy."

"Stop." 

Four planes left. Sammy, intrigued, nuzzled his way into Eddie's neck, "you're warm, too."

"Stop." Eddie put more emphasis on the 'o' part this time. 

"Ok ok I'm kidding," Sammy just laid on his shoulder now.

Three planes left. Eddie got tired of looking out the window at nothing. Sammy felt Eddie stir and lifted his head to let him move. He laid back and Sammy put his head back down. 

Two planes left. Sammy felt his hair being messed with, "hmmm?" Fatigue caught up and he was too tired for words.

"Your hair was tickling me."

"Mmmm."

One plane left. Sammy was just about to fall asleep, and then Eddie leaned his head on him. His eyes opened and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Eddie could feel it, "shut up and go to sleep." Doable. 

They finally turned onto the runway, but Eddie was already asleep. The plane sped up and the inertia pushed the pair back into their seats. Sammy opens one eye because of the lurch to look out the window. The angle was all wrong so he just looked out to the rest of the plane. The tops of Michael and Alex's heads, but that was pretty much it. The plane rose off the runway and Sammy closed the one eye. When the engine finally stopped roaring, Sammy could hear Eddie breathing softly. It shouldn't have been relaxed as it was, but Sammy was too exhausted to put thought into it.

In all honesty, he actually was really comfy. He trusted Eddie enough when he was around to let his shoulders drop and just be relaxed. He's always felt that way about him. Recent memories of the long morning he's had is on a playback to bore himself to sleep. And then Eddie's face in that good lighting and calm state popped up and wouldn't go away. He tried to move past it, but it just kept coming back. Sammy sighed and just watched Eddie behind closed eyes until he finally fell asleep. 

The flight time from Houston to Dallas is around thirty to thirty five minutes, give or take. Ten minutes in and they get turbulence. Of course it woke Sammy up. He knew he couldn't get what he wanted, but he's still bitter about it. It wasn't that bad so he tried to go back to sleep, jealous that Eddie was still sleeping.

Then the turbulence got a little worse and Eddie finally woke up. He yawned and turned his head to look out the window some more. He rubbed his eyes, "how long has it been?"

"Ten minutes." Sammy still leaned on his shoulder without opening his eyes.

"Damn it." Eddie leaned back onto Sammy and closed his eyes. They leaned a little harder into each other to get really comfy. If either of them weren't so tired, it'd be embarrassing to be witnessed like this. Eddie really was warm and Sammy took full advantage of it. He uncrossed his arms and let one just sit in between their legs. Sammy's hair did tickle Eddie's face, but his curls made for a good pillow. 

They were like that for 3 minutes, and then the plane dropped. They both shot up in disbelief as the turbulence made the plane dance. Sammy pulled the armrest down and white knuckled it. Eddie's face was plastered to the window, "holy shit…," he sat back and Sammy saw what he was talking about. The clouds were black and there was cloud lighting everywhere. Sammy leaned out into the aisle and Michael turned around. He was pale as a ghost and mouthed 'what the fuck'.

The pilot's voice came over the intercom, "this is going to be rough, but we'll be fine." That didn't sound as reassuring as it should have. 

"Oh my god," Eddie weakly laughed and turned away from the window to face Sammy. He had a scared look on his face, but nonetheless he was still smiling. When he saw Sammy's nervous face he giggled a little more. That reassured Sammy. He managed to give a half smile back and take a deep breath. 

Then the plane dropped again and Eddie no longer smiled. Then it dropped again even harder this time. Sammy felt like his stomach was left behind.

"CHRIST!" Alex yelled at the top of his lungs. The jet shook and dropped again. Eddie's hand landed on top of Sammy's on the armrest. They looked at each other and just stared for a minute, each of them wincing at each shake. Sammy noticed the contrast of the whites of Eddie's eyes against his tanned skin. Eddie pursed his lips and gave Sammy's hand a squeeze as he sat back and shut his eyes tight. Sammy did the same. Then he had an idea and took his hand off the armrest. Eddie started to take his hand back, but Sammy grabbed it and held it, squeezing back. Neither of them moved. They sat like that the rest of the flight, silently praying to themselves.

After the most agonizing twenty minutes of their lives, their private jet finally landed. They landed at Love Field instead of DFW because it was closer to downtown Dallas by 20 minutes. And the hotel was literally across the street. 

The band pretty much sprinted out of the jet. Michael got on his knees and kissed the ground, the brothers hugged and exchanged their 'I'm sorry's and 'I love you's, and Sammy just flopped on the ground and lied there. They were so wrapped up in being thankful that they were finally grounded, that they didn't realize it was still raining. 

It was around 2pm, but their day wasn't over yet. They still had to take their equipment to the venue. Sammy suggested that they do it now so they could sleep in tomorrow. 

Two hours passed while at the venue unloading and just basic planning, but they were starving. They finally lost steam around 5 and called it quits. The ride to the hotel wasn't even long, but they all fell asleep. They all woke up disoriented when they arrived, but then they saw the bar, and then they were right as rain. Pun intended. Check in was painless and they all got their keys and backup keys. Two rooms next to each other on the top floor, which was only the fifth floor. 

The brother's share a room and Sammy and Michael share the other. Hunger overrides sleep, so they just dumped their shit three feet into their respective rooms and tore off to the bar. After two burgers and two beers each it was bedtime, none of them cared that it wasn't even 7pm. Even if they couldn't fall asleep immediately, they just needed to get horizontal. Jet lag leaves no mercy. 

Sammy took off his shirt, "hey Mike are you gonna shower?" 

"Tomorrow…."

"M'kay-" Sammy had his pants down halfway when there was a knock at their door. He huffed and pulled them back up.

"Yes? Eddie?"

"Hey, uh… We forgot to tell you at dinner, but Al and I only have one bed…."

Sammy pinched the bridge of his nose, "let me guess? You already talked to the front desk and they said they're booked?"

"Mmmhmmm," Eddie rubbed the back of his head, "we should be ok." 

"Uh huh," Sammy "agreed". They were fine now, but he knows it won't last long, "ok then, see you in the morning." He lied.

"G'night." Another lie. Sammy closed the door and took the rest of his clothes off, quietly because Michael had already fallen asleep. 

He had to fiddle with the shower handle for a little bit. Why did they always have to be so complicated? Pull then push, turn it all the way around to get hot water, but a millimeter more and it's scalding. Damn it! More fiddling and then he finally mastered it. Mastering is the correct word to describe it because he just got the ideal temperature. Hot enough to warm you to the soul and just a little burn, but it felt so good. 

It may have been the longest shower Sammy had ever taken. He always hated the small soaps the hotels provided, there never was enough conditioner, and the water pressure was shitty, but he was just having a grand old time letting the water trickle down his body. He turns around to just let it run on his back and he thinks about the day he's had.

That last flight was ridiculous! Oh ya the flight… he did things he wouldn't normally do, but the thing that stuck out to him was that Eddie did, too. First it was playing grab ass, then sleeping on each other, and then holding his hand. He didn't feel weird about any of those things either, which he thought was odd. Heat of the moment! He thought they were going to die! Wait, that only explains the hand part. It all just…. happened and he didn't give any second thought to any of them. Sammy played around with his hands, holding on and letting go to see how they fit….or to reminisce how someone else's fit. He noticed that he's been in the shower too long because his fingers were very pruned. He wondered if Eddie was thinking about it as much as he was.

Sammy didn't want to get out, but he was about to fall asleep standing up. He mastered getting the water on, but turning it off was another story. He thought he got it, but he didn't push in the handle enough and freezing water poured onto him. He yelped and leaped out of the shower and fumbled with the handle until the shower was off. After quickly drying himself off, he pulled on some underwear, almost falling over because he missed a leg hole. Flopping on his bed without even unpacking, for a few reasons, and didn't even pull the blankets over. 

This was it! Sammy had no idea what time it was and frankly he didn't care. If it were 8 or midnight he was going to get some goddamn sleep. It was perfect: the light pattering of the rain on the window, Michael doesn't snore so it's nice and quiet, the rummaging and muffled yelling in the next room over, and the temperature- wait a minute. Crap not again. Maybe if he ignores it, it'll go away.

A few more pounds against the wall and Sammy gave up. This was one of the reasons why he didn't unpack. He grabbed his bag and a backup key while muttering under his breath, "godmotherfuckingdamnit," all in one word. "Can't go one goddamn day, can't even go a few hours." He swiped his key and walked in. 

The brothers were too wrapped up in trying to beat the crap out of each other that they didn't notice Sammy walk in. Oh he was so fed up with these two, he stomped over and grabbed whoever's closest to the door, "out!" Sammy yanked hard and someone fell with a thud, "hey!" It was Alex.

"Take your shit and get out!"

"What the-"

"Get. Out." He threw his, now previous, room key and pointed out the door. He scowled, but Alex didn't retaliate. He walked out the door and closed it behind him. Sammy then turned around to Eddie, who had faced the other way in hopes of avoiding a lecture. 

Sammy just sighed and got into bed lying on his back, glaring daggers. Feeling Sammy's weight and his stare, Eddie scooted over and pulled up the blankets more, almost completely covering himself. They both fell asleep within minutes and the rain started coming down a little harder.


	2. Beautiful Nightmare

The rain came down in a steady amount. Neither of them moved after they had fallen asleep: Sammy was on his back with one arm above his head and the other across his body and Eddie was on his side facing away from Sammy, almost cocooned in the blankets. The low rumbling of the thunder didn't even wake them up, neither did the silent flashes of lightning. It was perfectly tranquil in their room. 

Eddie was having a very strange dream. He was building a guitar, but made a fishing rod instead? He tossed it over his shoulder and started again, but he made a saber this time?? Michael was drinking from his Jack Daniel's bass that could refill itself. There were clouds on the floor….Sammy was jumping off of them and doing flips and somersaults…. and then he landed on a purple flamingo. Wait where were they? It looked like a white room, but it went on forever, there didn't seem to be an end to it. There was just one white door just randomly placed in the midst of this silliness. There was a knock, Eddie felt that it was Alex without even seeing him. The knocking turned into a pounding and it shook the room. It was deafening: the clouds vanished and Michael dropped the bass, shattering it. The pounding continued and Eddie covered his ears with his hands, shutting his eyes tight and felt the dream collapsing. 

He woke up with his hands covering his ears, tightly wrapped up in blankets. The rain was relentless and the lightning was flashing more frequently. There was a thunderclap and Eddie realized that the thunder was the pounding on the door. An assumption was made that he had to have been asleep for a while because he felt some soreness in his chest. He turned onto his back and then a sharp pain flared in the middle of his chest, like he was folded in half along his sternum. He gasped at the pain and tried to relieve it by massaging, but it felt too tender to press hard enough. 

"You ok?" Eddie turned his head to see Sammy, awake with his head resting on folded arms on top of his knees. 

"Ya, I just slept wrong I think." Eddie sat up to join Sammy and crossed his legs, "what time is it anyway?"

Sammy turned to the bedside table where the digital clock sat, "11:34. We got like three-ish hours of sleep, but this damn rain…." Sammy put his head down and ran his fingers through his hair, only to stop when he met tangles and knots. 

"Heh, better than nothing…." Eddie let his head hang and his hair fall from his shoulders while he listened to the ridiculous weather. The curtains were drawn, but the flashes of lightning seeped through the gaps, followed by the low rumblings of thunder. The whip and snap of the trees by the wind could be heard. It seemed neverending. 

Eddie layed back down and pulled the covers up only halfway up his stomach. He was starting to get hot and wanted to avoid getting cocooned again, "I'm gonna try to go back to sleep now."

Sammy just turned his head to face him, "you go ahead and do that."

"Are you not gonna try?"

"No, it's too loud for me." Sammy turned his face back into his folded arms, "I will when it gets quieter." 

That was fair. Eddie could sleep through anything, considering he's shared pretty much everything with Alex from rooms to beds. But he hasn't experienced a storm as violent as this one before. Sure enough though the longer he laid there thinking about it, the further he drifted. The sounds of the storm started to drown out, not sure if it was because he was almost asleep or if the storm was finally letting up, but it had to be the latter because he felt Sammy's weight shift on his side of the bed. He had actually fallen asleep with his head in his folded arms, but it was too uncomfortable. He turned over onto his stomach and put his arms under the pillows, his head turned towards Eddie.

The shift disturbed Eddie, just a little, and he lolled his head to the right to face Sammy. Both pairs of eyes were meer slits, they could barely keep them open. A loud thunderclap rumbled their room and Sammy rolled his eyes melodramatically. Eddie chuckled and let the pattering rain lull him to sleep….

Eddie was dreaming again, taken back to the white room actually. No purple flamingo, no clouds, and the door was gone, too. Just Eddie. It was ominous, how quiet it was. He felt so lonely, but paranoid at the same time. He whipped his head around, looking behind and either side of him for a jump scare, anything even. Nothing. He folded his arms and held himself. Surely there was an end to this room. He picked a direction and started walking. 

There must not really be an end though, he just kept going, and going, and going. There was nothing there, but he felt like he was being followed. Checking over his shoulder every few steps, not sure if it was the cause of the paranoia or if he was that desperate to find something. Eddie was one for some peace and quiet every now and then, but this was too much. He liked to be left alone, but not to be alone.

He didn't get much further before he found Sammy, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He's never been so happy to see that idiot. Eddie walked faster towards him, jogging, running, full out sprinting to his friend. But the more he ran, the further Sammy got. When he stopped moving, so did Sammy, like the room was preventing Eddie from getting to him. Frustrated, he kept trying, but to no avail. He tried running around and catch Sammy at the front, but it was futile.

Eddie felt horrible. First he was completely alone, now he's found the one he trusts the most, but can't even reach him. He's tried, he's tried so hard and there's nothing else he can do. So he sank to his knees and cried.

What the hell was he crying about though!? Did he even need to? He's not that much of a crier! Was not getting what he wanted enough to push him over the edge? Why did he want to be with Sammy so bad? Sure, he's a nice guy and easier to work with than Da- the other guy, but what was it about him that draws Eddie to him? Wait, he's….drawn to Sammy? He is? No, what's a better word? "Captivated"? No, that's worse! Jesus, Sammy's just a really likable guy. Likeable….oh boy.

He snapped out of his spiraling and decided to try to get Sammy again. Eddie stood up and took a few, slow steps to see if getting to Sammy was a possibility. And he- he's doing it, he's gaining some distance! Sammy is very far away at this point, but Eddie is gradually chipping away at the space between them. He wasn't sure if running would set him back to where he was, but he couldn't help himself.

Back to running with quick, fierce strides and his eyes on the prize, closing the gap at a considerable rate now. Eddie could feel his strong heartbeat get more rapid the closer he got. When he was right on top of him, he slid on his knees at the last second and met Sammy with the biggest hug he can deliver, nearly knocking him over in the process. He pulled away and looked at Sammy in the face, which was red and puffy with tears in his eyes. What for!? They had each other now! What's the problem? Eddie wiped the tears streaming down Sammy's face and embraced him again.

"You left me."

Shocked, Eddie let him go, "what! No I didn't!"

"I was alone and you weren't here."

"But I didn't leave you, I never would…."

"You left Dave though."

"I- he-." Eddie felt immeasurable heartache. The accusation, the past, all of it was overwhelming him. Trust is a big thing to him, from both sides. Sammy is unsure of him right now and his actions, Eddie feels like he's failed him. 

The room started to jolt and rumble, causing Eddie to lose his balance and fall on his side, feeling limp. Sammy layed on the floor next to him shaking his shoulder urging him to sit back up, but Eddie just couldn't. The shaking grew more vigorous and the pounding returned, even though the door was gone. It was loud, louder than last time and even painful; not just in his ears, but the rest of him, too. In his chest, in his legs, damn near everywhere in his body, it hurt so bad. And he still couldn't move anything but his eyes. Sammy continued to shake his shoulder and was saying something, but the pounding drowned it out. "....die….ed….Eddie!" 

His eyes shot open, bringing him to reality and the chaos unfolding outside. Sammy had a hand on his shoulder, "I didn't want to wake you up, but this sounds pretty bad." He must not have been awake long, he was still on his stomach and his voice was raspy.

"No, no, it's ok." Eddie sat up, but the thunder kept making him flinch. Was that even thunder anymore? It wasn't low rumbling at all, it sounded like several cannons firing simultaneously, or even a whole damn war out there! And there was no space in between it and the lightning. Just immediately flash-BANG flash-BANG. 

"Were you talking to me, while I was asleep I mean."

Sammy rolled onto his back and sat up, "I mean yeah? I was whispering your name. Wait, how did you know?"

"I could hear you in my dream." He heard his name loud and clear over the thunder actually. That's weird.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh….you."

"Aww really?"

"....on a purple flamingo."

"Oh." Not a complete lie, but he isn't letting that one go to Sammy's head. Course, even if Sammy's ego wasn't as big as it was, Eddie still wouldn't tell him the little details. 

"Was that it, though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, you were crying, too."

Eddie wiped under his eyes and felt the tears. In fact, the whole right side of his face was wet, where he was laying on the pillow, as well, there was a big wet spot. "....damn," he recalled his dream. "I uh, I don't remember. All I know is that you were in it." He sniffed and wiped his face again. 

"Ok…." Sammy got out of bed and went for the window. At least he dropped the subject. Eddie completely forgot that he wasn't wearing anything other than his boxers, at least Eddie had sweatpants on. He got up and joined Sammy at the window and pulled the curtains back. The rain was basically coming down sideways and they could barely see anything further than the parking lot. The lightning was incredible; it shot sideways, branching out and streaming across the sky, making it bright enough to look like daytime. It touched the ground and stayed visible for at least a full second. 

"This is actually kinda cool."

"Yeah."

There was ticking on the window like someone was throwing small rocks at them, "is that hail?" Sammy craned his neck to try and look up as far as he could. The ticking came more frequently and then it began to sound more dense.

"Maybe we shouldn't be this close to the window," Eddie took a few steps back.

"Nah, I think we'll be ok." Sammy looked back and held out his hand. Eddie took it after a little hesitation and allowed Sammy to pull him forward, remembering their plane ride here.

That was different from this. They weren't in any immediate danger this time (he hopes). This was time slowed down enough for him to breathe and drink in what he's seeing. A fantastic storm playing out in front of him next to his trusted bandmate. Eddie would be lying if he said Sammy's hand didn't feel soft against his calloused hand from playing. It felt nice, as nice as another man's hand can get. But wait, Sammy plays too and Eddie is just making shitty excuses for him to like holding his hand. Damn it. He wants the title "trusted bandmate" to change.

Perhaps his silly dreams are playing a part in his feelings, but he feels really good right now, he can't help but feel like this. He's grown close to Sammy over the time he's been in the band and then dreaming about him was that last push. Even if it wasn't the best dream he could've had, Eddie still ran to him when he had nothing else (literally) and held him close. Even if it's only been hours in one day, he can't put it off any longer. Even if it could change the dynamic of the band, his band, he has to get it out before it eats away at his conscience. 

Eddie squeezed his hand, "hey Sammy…." Well, here goes nothing. 

Sammy squeezed back and turned towards Eddie beside him, "yeah?" 

The flashes from the lightning paired with the water droplets on the window made pretty designs on the side of Sammy's face as he looked at him.

"....Sammy I-"

pop BANG

"-told you we shouldn't be by the window, you idiot!"

The lightning got so close that they could hear it. The bolt struck something in the parking lot, but they weren't sticking around to see what poor thing it was. 

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, now back to bed!" They hoped back into bed, yanked the covers over them, and shared a few nervous giggles. 

The gravity of this situation is just now hitting Eddie like a semi going eighty miles per hour. He's sharing a bed with Sammy, he's sleeping with him, and Eddie thinks- is pretty sure he likes him. If he goes through with telling him how he feels, it'll be a long and awkward night sleeping on the edge of the bed as far for each other as they can. The guilt and embarrassment settling in his gut is killing his self esteem before anything has even happened. Just thinking of saying the wrong thing makes him sick, but if he doesn't say anything right now it'll make him ache and regret it later. 

"Sammy…"

"Yeah-ah wait, do you hear sirens?" Damn there's always something, but he did.

"Uh, are we about to get nuked?"

Sammy reached for the remote and turned on the TV, "let's find out." He flipped channels until he found the local news.

The weather lady was standing in front of a map of the patch of north Texas they were in, and it was covered in so many colors it looked like a rainbow. Not a good sign. Two storm cells came together and formed a bigger one, which was the perfect formula to make tornadoes. She was listening off which counties were in a tornado watch, which explained the sirens and crazy wind. 

"Shit, we're never gonna get any sleep." Eddie felt defeated, but overall he was exhausted. It's been a long day, but the night was dragging on forever. He let his head hang out low above his chest so the edges of his hair touched the tops of his thighs, hiding his face. 

Sammy switched off the TV and stretched with his hands above his head, "mmmm yes we will." His hands came down, resting at his sides on the mattress. One inched closer to Eddie's and he hooked their pinky fingers together. "We'll be ok."

Eddie took that as a sign; it's now or never. Sammy's hand started to slip away and Eddie grasped it. He sat up straight and looked at Sammy as the lightning illuminated his questioning face in the dark hotel room. He opened his mouth so say it, but he literally could not force it out. Thank God it was dark so Sammy couldn't see his flushed face, which got so red it hurt. He's thankful that Sammy hasn't interrupted, but maybe he should so that Eddie has time to think. 

Fuck it, using his words are out the window, struck by lightning, and burnt to a crisp. He turned his whole body to Sammy, who still didn't know what was going on, taking his hand that he held and lifted it up. Just looking at it, noticing his are just a little bigger than his own. He flattened out Sammy's fingers and shakily placed it over his chest with a hard swallow. 

Either Sammy was just a cold bodied person or Eddie's entire body was flushed, but his hand felt cold against his skin. His heart was just absolutely racing, his body vibrated with each and every pulse. He felt it beating in his neck and it rang in his ears. He doesn't dare look Sammy in the eyes, he can't bring himself to do it. Wondering if he's picked up the hint, he looks at Sammy anyways. 

To Eddie's surprise, Sammy doesn't have a disgusted look on his face. His eyes are wide and his mouth is parted, he can't read him. Until they lock eyes and Sammy lets out a shaky breath while Eddie is still holding on. Sammy pulls his hand away and Eddie let's him, he's said all that's needed to be said. But Sammy holds on, taking Eddie's hand and placing it on his chest!

"Me, too." Eddie feels Sammy's heartbeat and it's fast, if not faster, beating harder actually. Sammy has a face resembling a puppy begging for attention. Oh God, this can't be happening, Sammy feels the same way. They let their hands fall and stared at each other with bright eyes and excited giggles. 

Just staring got awkward after their fits died down and they both got too shy to look the other in the eye. But before Eddie could catch his breath, he felt Sammy's lips on his. He was always jealous of how full Sammy's lips were, but now that he's claimed them he doesn't really care. It was just a peck until Sammy broke away, having a little taste and hungry for more. He went in again, deeper this time, and pushed Eddie flat on the bed to pin him down, settling in between his legs. Interlacing one hand, Eddie used the other to get in Sammy's hair and turn his head for a better angle. It was nothing too serious, seeing as it was too late to initiate anything anyways. 

Making out like this made them forget about the storm, about how tired they were supposed to be, and about their near death experience thousands of feet up. No thunder, no tornado, or what so have you could distract them right now. Only until they run out of breath and their lips going raw could stop them, if only for a minute before they got back at it. 

Eddie fell asleep with Sammy in his arms not knowing if he was dreaming or not, but praying that he doesn't wake up soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If you have dreams as vivid as mine, then you know how extreme your emotions can get


End file.
